TURKEY/GREECE: DUST UP OVER IMIA/KARDAK ISLET AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000076

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/12/2017
TAGS: PREL MARR TU GR
SUBJECT: TURKEY/GREECE: DUST UP OVER IMIA/KARDAK ISLET AND
AEGEAN TENSIONS

REF: A. ANKARA 2006 6388

B. ATHENS 0080 (NOTAL)

C. ATHENS 2006 2975

Classified By: DCM Nancy McEldowney, reasons 1.4 (b and d)


1. (C) Summary: The Turkish military is downplaying a series
of confrontations between Turkish Coast Guard vessels and
Greek fishermen near the disputed islet of Imia/Kardak, as
well as reports of air intercepts over the Aegean since
mid-December. The MFA described the December encounters
around Imia/Kardak as a Greek provocation designed to
embarrass Turkey during EU accession talks. Press reporting
here has been low key, although Turkish authorities have
reportedly kept the media away from the islet. The
restrained military reaction is indicative of recent progress
and improved communications across the Aegean since the
reciprocal CHOD visits and other exchanges late last year.
While both sides worked to defuse tensions following a fatal
mid-air collision in May 2006, another accident could
jeopardize progress made to date. End summary.

Incursions Around Imia/Kardak Islet
--------------


2. (U) Ankara press reports, most replaying Greek media
accounts, describe a series of incidents around the rocky
islets of Imia/Kardak off Turkey's Bodrum peninsula in which
fishermen from both Turkey and Greece have allegedly had
their nets slashed. The recent series of incidents reportedly
began around December 9, subsided after several days, and
resumed in early January. Press stories report that Turkish
Coast Guard vessels have been operating for extended periods
in what Greece considers its territorial waters near the
uninhabited islands, preventing fishing vessels and pleasure
craft from entering the area, and in at least one reported
incident, cutting net lines of a Greek fishing boat.

F-16 Intercepts Alleged
--------------


3. (U) The Turkish press reported that Greek jets "harassed"
Turkish warplanes on training flights in what Turkey
considers to be international air space at least five times
in recent days. Several of the incidents allegedly involved
"dog fights" in which dangerously close contact occurred
between the two countries' aircraft.

Ankara Officials Also Downplay Actions
--------------


4. (C) In reactions similar to those reported from Athens in
ref b, Turkish military officers familiar with Aegean issues
have downplayed the significance of the incidents. They have
told us in recent days that they remain optimistic that
confidence building measures (CBMs) discussed during the
Greek and Turkish CHODs 2006 reciprocal visits (reftels a and
c) and in the subsequent meeting between the Coast Guard
chiefs of both countries in December 2006 were having a
positive effect. Col. Oktay Bingol of the Turkish General
Staff (TGS) J-5 told us on January 12 that the recent
confrontations were not dangerous and that CBMs were having
their intended effect of decreasing chances for accidents
involving military vessels and aircraft in disputed waters
and air space. Turkish Navy Plans Chief Rear Admiral Cem
Gurdeniz also confirmed that CBMs are being implemented. The
General Staff considers the recent incidents around
Imia/Kardak to be a law enforcement issue related to
fisheries, and not a security matter, he said. He noted that
Turkey had deliberately kept surface interaction at the Coast
Guard level and by so doing had sought to avoid any
escalation. He told us that both sides understood the
implications of each others' actions, and that restraint was
important.


5. (U) Commenting to reporters on January 11 about press
stories that Greek aircraft were again harassing Turkish
planes, Chief of the General Staff (CHOD) GEN Yasir Buyukanit

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was upbeat, describing Turkey and Greece has having good
intentions. He said that he had spoken with Greek CHOD
Chinofotis on the morning of January 11, noted that it would
take time to resolve problems, and stressed the need for
cooperation and patience. Improvements in military ties had
been achieved, he said, "but you cannot change everything in
one day."


6. (U) The Turkish Coast Guard Command announced after the
December incidents that its teams were fulfilling their
regular duties and that there was "no crisis in the region."
The Coast Guard statement denied that confrontations with
Greek vessels had occurred around the disputed islet.


7. (C) MFA maritime officials with whom we spoke were more
antagonistic than their military colleagues, telling us they
believe the December incidents with Greek fishermen at
Imia/Kardak were intentional provocations by Greece designed
to embarrass Turkey on the eve of European Union discussions
of Turkey's accession. Basat Ozturk in the MFA Office of
Maritime Affairs complained to us that Greek aircraft were
flying over the Aegean armed again, despite the fact that
Turkey understood there was an agreement reached during GEN
Buyukanit's visit that aircraft from both sides would patrol
unarmed. Ozturk attributed the apparent disconnect between
the high-level military meetings in late 2006 and the most
recent incidents to lack of Greek political will to carry out
the confidence building measures the military side is
attempting to implement.


8. (C) Mehmet Poroy of the MFA Maritime Affairs office
repeated charges on January 12 that the December incidents in
the Aegean were an intentional provocation by Greece. Poroy
told us that, as is their usual practice, the MFA had called
in Greek Embassy officials to express official complaints.
On alleged Turkish aircraft violations, Poroy explained that
from 2001 until mid-2006, Turkey had filed air flight plans
with NATO and that these were available to the Greek Air
Force. In 2006, Turkey stopped filing flight plans because
they "no longer served their purpose," he said. He also
complained that that Greek fighters were flying armed
missions. Although he admitted that the CBMs were having a
positive effect overall, Poroy said that he did not expect
that the quiet bilateral talks Turkey and Greece have been
holding on continental shelf boundary issues (ref b) could
resume in the present atmosphere. There have been 35 rounds
of talks at the undersecretary level between the two
countries since March 2002, he claimed.
Comment
--------------


9. (C) Unlike the confrontation over Imia/Kardak in 1996 in
which the planting of a Greek and then a Turkish flag on the
rocky islet off the Turkish coast unleashed a nationalistic
furor in Turkey and sharply boosted then Prime Minister
Ciller's popularity, the recent incidents have elicited
little popular response in Turkey and are being downplayed by
TGS and other military officials. The restrained military
reaction is indicative of recent progress and improved
communications across the Aegean, seen particularly after the
fatal F-16 collision in May 2006. An accident resulting from
an air or sea encounter could still jeopardize progress,
however.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/

WILSON